Arrr! Them scallywags at Pittsburgh Public Schools be havin' a cursed time with a third o' students missin' too much learnin'!
2023-12-06
Avast ye! A landlubberly band o' do-gooders from Pittsburgh, claimin' to be a non-profit, be blabberin' 'bout the troubles o' Pittsburgh Public Schools. They be sayin' that the scallywags be havin' a tough time with chronic absenteeism, and it be needin' some fixin'. Arrr, what a sorry state o' affairs!
In a recent report, it has been revealed that Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) are struggling with high absenteeism. A+ Schools, a non-profit organization that works to improve education quality, released their annual report on chronic absenteeism in PPS. According to the report, 34% of PPS students were chronically absent in the 2022-2023 school year. This means that over 6,000 students missed 10% or more of the days they were enrolled for various reasons. PPS presides over 56 schools with a total of 18,652 students.James Fogarty, the Executive Director of A+ Schools, stated that despite the new numbers, there has been an overall reduction in chronic absence after efforts to improve attendance. A+ Schools has partnered with PPS to implement Everyday Labs interventions, which have resulted in a 16% reduction in chronic absence. Fogarty mentioned that there are multiple barriers contributing to chronic absenteeism, including bus driver shortages, poor sidewalks that may lead parents to keep children at home during bad weather, and economic disadvantages that require older children to care for younger siblings when they are sick.
Fogarty also highlighted the issue of students not being ready to learn, as the pandemic has caused a significant loss of learning time. While academic achievement is gradually recovering, many students require tutoring and additional support to catch up. Sarah Silverman, the chair of A+ Schools board of directors, acknowledged the struggle in Pittsburgh and emphasized the importance of transparency and collaboration to find solutions.
The report also revealed that PPS spends $30,000 per student annually. PPS officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. These findings come after a recent report showing that two-thirds of American students attended schools with high levels of chronic absence, a significant increase compared to pre-pandemic levels.